1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tools, equipment, and fixtures used in the building and construction trades, and more specifically to a system for lifting and/or stabilizing foundations and the like.
2. Related Art
As buildings age and settle there is sometimes a need for lifting or jacking the building foundation to make all parts of the building approximately level, which in turn repairs and prevents further damage to the building structure. There are numerous designs known in the art for systems for stabilizing and lifting building structures. These typically begin with a pier or piling driven or screwed into the ground beneath the building foundation, leaving a piling projecting upwards on which a lifting structure is attached. The lifting structure attaches to the piling and also to the building, with the lifting structure pushing against the piling to stabilize or raise the building.
Despite the variety of lifting systems currently available, these systems suffer from several drawbacks. The piers and pilings come in a variety of diameters, cross-sectional shapes, and lengths. At the lower end of the pier there is often attached a helical auger which helps to stabilize the pier, the augers vary in their diameter, pitch (i.e. angle of curvature), and number of turns. Thus it is necessary to keep in stock a large number of piers with helical augers attached in order to have at the ready a pier with the correct length shaft which also has the desired auger dimensions and shaft cross-sectional size and shape.
Furthermore, in some cases it is necessary to extend the length of a piling, for example when conditions are such that a pier is driven deeper into the ground than had been anticipated or provided for in advance. Thus there is a need for a way to extend the length of a piling while still maintaining adequate lifting strength.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to modularize pier and piling systems to reduce the number of parts that must be kept on hand while making assembly of pier systems easier.
There is also a need for keeping the lifting assembly closely attached to the building structure without slippage of the lifting assembly relative to the building structure.
Finally, there is a need for making the pilings sturdier and more rust-resistant.
The invention described below overcomes one or more of the above-described problems.